“She thought about how much easier it was to learn English if you’d grasped Portuguese first, about the badminton tournament in which she was currently a promising quarter finalist with a very good chance of going all the way, and, of course, about rehearsals for the Christmas Carol service which had the added attraction of involving boys from neighbouring St Michael’s. Then she allowed her thoughts to wander to Miguel; his long, sensuous fingers delicately wrapped around a pen as he wrestled with a mathematical problem.”